Ball washing apparatus



April 9, 1963 H. HAssELRoTH 3,084,260

BALL. WASHING APPARATUS Filed Feb. l5, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I l A *I Il All- 4 3 4 MHT-Milli HAI. 40 I -jgllylililml l 3' l| l 14| I I Ill.HIIUHIV )A28-t y l lul i um I 'y A 1|; un 4 32 4/ \I`I" f] 29 32 2INVENTOR. f! Harold Hasselroth lndrus 5S Sfar/e 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H.HASSELROTH BALL WASHING APPARATUS April 9, 1963 Filed Feb. l5. 1961United States Patent O 3,084,360 BALL W ASHING APPARATUS HmoldHasselrotb, Rockford, 1li., assigner to G. B. Lewis Company, Watertown,Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Feb. 1S, 1961, Ser. No. 89,510 10Claims. (Cl. 1S-4) This invention relates to `a ball washing apparatusand more particularly to an improved rotary golf ball washer. There aretwo basic types of golf ball washers which `are presently used, thereciprocating or paddle type and the rotary type. In the reciprocatingtype, the ball is in.

washer in which the golf ball is moved through a tor tuous passage inthe casing by a rotating brush. In a device of the .type shown in thispatent, the brush is the driving force and it has been found that thereis not adequate frictional resistance between the brush and the golfball to provide a complete scrubbing action.

The present invention is directed to a rotary golf ball washer having animproved scrubbing action. The golf ball washer comprises a casinghaving a passage through which the golf ball is adapted to be movedduring the washing operation and a `scrubbing member, such 4.as a brush,is located within the passage. One side of the passage is closed oit bya wall of the casing, and a rotatable resilient disc is spaced laterallyfrom the opposite open side of the passage and is `adapted to be rotatedby an external crank. The ball is inserted within the inlet end of thepassage and by rotating the resilient member, the ball is moved throughthe passage to the outlet end. The resilient member serves to move theball within the passage and the frictional resistance of the ballagainst the scrubbing member serves to rotate the ball, so that theentire surface of the ball is thoroughly cleaned or scrubbed. As thepassage through which the ball moves during the cleaning operation is ofsubstantial length, a number of balls can be inserted into the passageand cleaned at the same time.

An automatic kickover feature is also provided which will automaticallymove the ball from the outlet end of the passage to the inlet end sothat the ball can be recycled through the passage for additionalscrubbing if desired.

The present ball washer is of simple construction `and both the brush4and the resilient disc can be readily replaced when worn.

Other objects and. advantages will appear in the course of the followingdescription.

The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated of carryingout the present invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of the ball washer of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the ball washer;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the washer;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevation taken along line 4 4 of FIG. 3 with partsbroken away in section;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along line 5--5 of FIG.4; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the driving disc.

The drawings illustrate a rotary golf ball washer which includes agenerally circular casing 1 having an open face which is enclosed by acover plate 2. The cover plate 2 is secured to the casingl by a seriesof bolts 3 which eX- tend through .aligned openings in the matchingiianges 4 of the casing and cover plate. The joint between the casingand the cover plate is sealed to prevent leakage of -liquid from thecasing by means of a resilient gasket S.

The golf ball washer is adapted to be supported on a post or the likeand thus the casing 1 is provided with a tubular extension 6 which isadapted Ito fit over the upper end of the supporting post 7. Theextension `6 -is provided with an opening and a set screw 8 is insertedthrough the opening and secures the casing to the post.

To prevent accumulation of dirt or other foreign material within thecasing, the lower portion of the casing is provided with a sump 9 and yadrain opening 10 provides communication between the sump 9 `and theexterior. Normally the drain opening 9 is closed by a plug 11.

The casing 1 and cover plate 2 are provided with matching recesses whichtogether define an opening 12 for inserting or withdrawing the golf ballor other article to be cleaned.

A spider 13 is mounted on the inner face of the cover plate 2 and isprovided with a plurality of radially extending spokes or lingers 14,15, 16 Iand 17, which extend radially outward with respect to the axisof the ball washer. The spider 13 is provided with generally curvedsurfaces between the spokes and the spoke 14 is preferably of greaterlength than the other `spokes 'and extends to la point located generallycentrally of the opening 12 in the casing.

A guide track 18 is also formed integrally with the inner face of thecover plate 2 and includes a series of generally semicircular surfaces19, 2t) yand 21 which are disposed in spaced relation to the respectivespokes 15,k

16 and 17. In addition, the guide track is provided with a pair ofgenerally vertical surfaces 22 and 23 which are spaced from the spoke 14and deiine :an inlet 24 and an outlet 25 which are disposed incommunication with the opening 12 in the casing. The spider 13 Iand theguide track 1S denne a tortuous passage 26 through which the ball 27 ismoved during the washing operation, and the passage 26 has a widthslightly greater than the diameter of the ball. The ball is insertedthrough the opening 12 into inlet 24 and moves through the passage 26 tothe outlet 25 where it can be removed from' the casing. The spoke or arm14 which extends upwardly toward the opening 12 is preferably slanted orat 4an angle with respect to -a radius of the casing to facilitate theautomatic discharge of the ball to the outlet 25.

The bail 27 is cleaned as it moves through the passage 26 by a pair ofbrushes 2S and 29 which are disposed in the corner between the guidetrack 18 and the inner wal-l of the cover plate 2 and in the cornerbetween the spider 13 and the inner wall of the casing. Each brushconsists of a series of bristles 3b which are connected to a wire 31 andeach wire is held in position within the passage by feeding the ends ofthe wire through openings in fillets 32 located at the upper por-tion ofthe cover plate. ln addition, a series of lips 33 are provided lin thepassage 26 and serve to retain the wire 31 in position throughout theentire length of the passage.

While the scrubbing or cleaning member is shown as brushes 28 and 29, itis contemplated that any other type of cleaning member, such as afabric, rubber nipples, and the like, can be substituted for thebrushes.

T he golf ball 27 is driven through the passage 26 by a generallycircular resilient disc 34 which is secured to a backing plate 35 by asuitable resin or adhesive 36. The resilient disc 34 is formed of aresilient material such as rubber or the like and is provided with apair of diametrically opposite recesses 37 `into which the golf ball isinserted at the start of the Washing operation and withdrawn at thecompletion of the washing operation.

The disc 34 is mounted on a central shaft 3S and the inner end of theshaft 38 is threaded and is engaged by a nut 39 while the outer end ofthe shaft extends through a -boss 40 formed on the cover plate 2 and isengaged by a crank 41. The boss 40 is provided with a suitable bushing42 within which the shaft is journaled. By rotating Ithe crank 41, thedisc 34 will be rotated about the axis of the casing to thereby move theball within the pas sage 26.

The height of the boss 40 is such that .the inner surface of the disc 34will be spaced 4from :the outer edge of the spider 13 and the guidetrack 18, and the distance between the inner wall of the cover plate 2and the opposing surface of the disc 34 will be slightly less than thediameter of the golf ball. Therefore the ball will be in contact withthe inner surface of the wall 2 as it is moved through the passage 26and -the ball will also press into and deform the res-ilient disc 34 andprovide an increased area of surface contact between the disc and theball.

To operate theY apparatus of the invention, the casing is partiallyfilled with water or any other cleaning fluid to be employed. In mostcases the cleaning fluid is Water and a detergent =or soap will be addedto the water. The golf ball or other article to be :cleaned is insertedthrough the opening 12 into the inlet 24. The disc 34 is then rotated byturning `the crank 41 land the ball 27 is driven through the tortuouspassage 26. Because of the shape or dimensions of the passage 26 and dueto the friotional resistance of the brushes, the ball not only movesthrough the passage but is also rotated about its own axis. During therotation and movement of the ball through the passage, all surfaces ofthe ball will come into contact with the brushes 28 and 29 so that theentire outer surface of -the ball will be completely cleaned orscrubbed. This improved scrubbing action is due to the fact that thedriving member itself, which is the disc 34, is not intended to clean orscrub the ball and the ball is moved against .the brushes so that thefrictional resistance provides the scrubbing action.

The spongy resilient character of the dis-c will serve to absorb some ofthe water within ythe casing and a portion of this water will besqueezed out by the pressure of the ball against the disc, with thesqueezed out Water serving to Wash the dirt from the ball and provide anincreased cleaning effect.

As the passage 26 has a substantial length, a series of balls can beinserted ythrough the opening 12 and all of them can be cleaned at thesame time. Because of the shape of the spider 13 and the location of theoutlet opening 25, the ball :being moved to the outlet 2S will beautomatically kicked over to the inlet 24 without having to be manuallyreinserted within the inlet 24.

The pair of brushes 28 and 29 provides a thorough scrubbing action forthe ball and the brushes can be readily replaced when worn by merelyremoving the wire from the fillets 32 and lips 33. Similarly, thedriving disc 34 can be readily replaced when Worn.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as beingWithin the scope of the following claims particularly point-ing out anddistinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as theinvention.

I claim:

1. A washing device, comprising a container having an opening andadapted to contain a cleaning media and having a firm non-resilientfirst wall and a second wall in opposed spaced relation, track meansconnected to said rst wall for defining a passage disposed incommunication with said opening, the second wall being spaced from saidmeans to provide the passage -With an open side, a -drive memberjournaled for rotation about an axis disposed generally normal to saidfirst wall and having a resilient rubber-like surface facing said firstwall and spaced from said track means, said resilient surface beingspaced from said first wall a distance slightly less than the ycrosssectional dimension of the article whereby the j the passage to therebyscrub the entire surface of the ball.

article bears against the first wall and depresses the resilientsurface, means for rotating said drive member to thereby move thearticle through the passage, and a scrubbing member connected Ato thecontainer and disposed within the passage for scrubbing the article asthe same moves through the passage.

2. A ball washer, comprising a casing having an opening therein, aspider disposed within the casing and having a plurality of generallyradially extending arms, a track disposed within the casing and definingin combination with the arms of the spider a generally tortuous passagethrough which the ball is to be moved during the Washing operation withthe inlet end and the outlet end of the passage connnunicating with theopening in the casing, said casing having a hard-surfaced Wall closingoff one side of the passage and the opposite side of the passage beingopen, a rubber-like resilient drive member spaced from the open side ofthe passage and having a flat surface disposed to engage the peripheralsurface of a ball disposed within the passage, means for rotating theresilient drive member to thereby move the ball through the passage, andscrubbing means secured within the passage and disposed to be engaged bythe ball as the ball is moved through the passage to thereby scrub theentire surface of the ball.

3. The structure of claim 2 in which the casing defines a sump disposedin communication with the passage and adapted to collect dirt and otherforeign matter.

4. A ball washing apparatus, comprising a container having an openingand adapted to contain a cleaning media and having a hard non-resilientfirst wall and a second wall in opposed spaced relation, track meansconnected to said first Wall for defining a passage disposed incornmunication with said opening, the second wall being spaced from saidmeans to provide the passage with an open side, a drive member disposedwithin the container and journaled for rotation about an axis generallynormal to said first wall and including a substantially rigid backingmember and a generally dat resilient surface facing said first Wall andspaced from the open side of said passage, said resilient surface havingat least one peripheral recess to facilitate inserting and withdrawingthe ball from the passage, means for spacing said resilient surface fromsaid first wall of the casing with the distance between said first walland said surface being slightly less than the diameter of the ball to beWashed, driving means disposed externally of the casing for rotating thedrive member to thereby move the ball through the passage, andfrictional contact means disposed within the .passage and disposed to beengaged by the ball as the ball is moved through 5. The structure ofclaim 4, in which the resilient surface is substantially circular inshape and is coextensive with substantially the entire length of thepassage` 6. The structure of claim 4, in which the driving means is acrank journaled within said second wall and connected to the drivemember.

7. A washing device, comprising a container having an opening andadapted to contain a cleaning media and having a hard-surfaced firstwall and a second wall in opposed spaced relation, track means connectedto said first i wall for defining a passage disposed in communicationwith said opening, the second wall being spaced from said means toprovide the passage with an open side, a drive member disposed withinthe container and journaled for rotation about an axis disposedgenerally normal to said first wall and having a generally flatresilient surface facing said first wall and spaced from said trackmeans, said resilient surface being spaced from said first wall adistance slightly less than the cross sectional dimension of the articlewhereby the article bears against the first wall and depresses theresilient surface, means for rotating said drive member to thereby movethe article through the passage, and a pair of scrubbing membersdisposed within the passage and spaced on either side of the centerlineof said passage, said article adapted to be in contact with said firstwall and located between said scrubbing members and adapted to be movedthrough the passage by rotation of the drive member to thereby engagethe entire surface of the article with the scrubbing members as thearticle is moved through the passage.

8. -A ball washing device, comprising a container having an opening andadapted to contain a cleaning media and having a rst wall and a secondwall in opposed spaced relation, track means connected to said firstwall for defining a passage disposed in communication with said opening,the second wall being spaced from said means to provide the passage withan open side, a drive member disposed within the container and journaledfor rotation about an axis disposed generally normal to said first Walland having a at rubber-like surface facing said first wall, means forspacing said rubber-like surface from said first wall with the distancebetween said surface and said first wall being slightly less than thediameter of the ball to be washed, means for rotating said drive memberto thereby move the ball through the passage, and a pair of brushesdisposed within the passage and located on either side of the centerlineof the passage and extending substantially the entire length of thepassage, said ball serving to deform the rubber-like surface and providean increased surface contact between the ball and said surface and saidbrushes being disposed to be engaged by the ball as the ball is movedthrough the passage to thereby scrub the entire surface ofthe ball.

9. The structure of claim 8, and including means for removably securingthe brushes within the passage.

10. A ball Washer, comprising a casing having an opening therein, aspider disposed within `the casing and having a plurality of generallyradially extending arms, a track disposed within the casing and definingin combination with the arms of the spider a generally tortuous passagethrough which the ball is to be moved during the Washing operation Withthe inlet end and the outlet end of the passage communicating with theopening in the casing, said casing having a wall closing off one side ofthe passage and the opposite side of passage being open, a rotatabledrive disc disposed within the casing and having a deformable generallyflat surface facing the open side of the passage and substantiallyenclosing the open side of the passage, the ball to be washed beingdisposed Within the passage and 'bearing against said wall and deformingsaid flat surface of said drive disc, means for rotating the drive discabout an axis perpendicular to said flat surface to thereby move theball lthrough the passage, a tirst scrubbing member disposed within thepassage at the junction between said spider and said wall, and a secondscrubbing member disposed within the passage at the junction betweensaid track and said wall, said scrubbing members extending substantiallythe length of said passage and disposed to engage the ball and scrub thesame as the ball moves through the passage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,796,704 Day Mar. 17, 1931 1,954,738 Lerch Apr. 10, 1934 2,198,441Mollart Apr. 23, 1940 2,339,573 Knipp Jan. 18, 1944 2,540,687Netterstrom Peb. 6, 1951 2,672,633 Allen Mar. 23, '1954 2,744,274Procario et al. May 8, 1956

1. A WASHING DEVICE, COMPRISING A CONTAINER HAVING AN OPENING ANDADAPTED TO CONTAIN A CLEANING MEDIA AND HAVING A FIRM NON-RESILIENTFIRST WALL AND A SECOND WALL IN OPPOSED SPACED RELATION, TRACK MEANSCONNECTED TO SAID FIRST WALL FOR DEFINING A PASSAGE DISPOSED INCOMMUNICATION WITH SAID OPENING, THE SECOND WALL BEING SPACED FROM SAIDMEANS TO PROVIDE THE PASSAGE WITH AN OPEN SIDE, A DRIVE MEMBER JOURNALEDFOR ROTATION ABOUT AN AXIS DISPOSED GENERALLY NORMAL TO SAID FIRST WALLAND HAVING A RESILIENT RUBBER-LIKE SURFACE FACING SAID FIRST WALL ANDSPACED FROM SAID TRACK MEANS, SAID RESILIENT SURFACE BEING SPACED FROMSAID FIRST WALL A DISTANCE SLIGHTLY LESS THAN THE CROSS SECTIONALDIMENSION OF THE ARTICLE WHEREBY THE ARTICLE BEARS AGAINST THE FIRSTWALL AND DEPRESSES THE RESILIENT SURFACE, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID DRIVEMEMBER TO THEREBY MOVE THE ARTICLE THROUGH THE PASSAGE, AND A SCRUBBINGMEMBER CONNECTED TO THE CONTAINER AND DISPOSED WITHIN THE PASSAGE FORSCRUBBING THE ARTICLE AS THE SAME MOVES THROUGH THE PASSAGE.